own (v.) Copy link Outline I. To possess1. tĕneo, ui, ntum, 2 (a general and somewhat vague expr.)2. possĭdeo, sēdi, sessum, 2 (strictly to hold or be in occupation, whether with ownership or notII. To acknowledge • own (v.): I. To possess: 1. tĕneo, ui, ntum, 2 (a general and somewhat vague expr.): a madman is incapacitated from o.ing property, furiosus affectionem tenendi non habet, Paul. Dig. 41, 2, 1 § 3: to o. as private property (strictly of persons not sui juris), peculiariter t., ib. § 5: all that rich Achaemenes o.'d, quae tenuit dives A., Hor. Od. 2, 12, 21. 2. possĭdeo, sēdi, sessum, 2 (strictly to hold or be in occupation, whether with ownership or not: cf. Gal. 2, 49, where stolen goods, res furtivae, and things wrongfully possessed, res vi possessae, are classed together: also used by ordinary writers in gen. sense): v. to possess. Phr.: he who o.s property, qui dominus est, Gai. Inst. 2, 61: if he o. a slave, si in bonis ejus sit servus, ib. 1, 54: I consider I continue, to o., though not (actually) to possess, ego dominium me retinere puto, possessionem non puto, Ulp. Dig. 41, 2, 13, init. (Legal.). II. To acknowledge: făteor, confĭteor, 2: v. to confess. Phr.: to o. the sovereignty of, (imperio) parere, dicto audientem esse, etc.: v. to obey; subject (be).